Top Cleveland County sports stories of 2013

By Alan Ford

Published: Monday, December 30, 2013 at 05:51 PM.

3. Legion baseball

Shelby, the home of the American Legion World Series, had another big baseball year.

The annual event in August featured standing-room crowds, additions and improvements to the ballpark, plus exciting action that saw Brooklawn, N.J., take home the trophy after a runner-up finish in 2012.

Locally, it was a big season as well. Coach Mike Grayson’s Post 82 squad won the Area IV championship to earn a berth in the state tournament. The team’s 35 wins tied the fifth-best mark in the fabled program’s long history.

4. Far and wide

The word keeps getting out about Cleveland County athletics.

Standout performers in a wide range of activities continue to land scholarships to colleges throughout the region — from junior college up through NAIA, Division II and even ACC (Division I) programs,and 2013 was no exception.

High school football is always a big deal in Cleveland County, but 2013 added another chapter to its storied history.

Before it was over, Shelby had its sixth state championship, Crest had won 14 in a row only to suffer a heartbreaking last-minute defeat in the 3AA finals, and Burns had another superb season at 11-2.

The Golden Lions couldn’t seem to get over the hump in close games during the regular season and entered the 2A postseason at 7-4 as a No. 6 seed. Shelby took care of that concern by steamrolling five playoff foes by an average of 32.8 points/game.

All season the Lions’ spread offense rang up points led by quarterback R.J. George, who rewrote the school’s passing records. But the emergence of the defensive unit in the postseason for coachLance Ware gave Shelby the balance to sprint to the title.

Crest decided it didn’t want anything to do with a rebuilding year and, after an opening loss to South Point, gradually picked up momentum. The Charger defense was a dominant force by the end of the regular season and two 1,000-yard rushers on offense — Tre Harbison and JalinMoore — set the tempo.

Crest earned a top seed and stayed at home for four playoff victories, including a dramatic semifinal overtime victory against former nemesis Northern Guilford. The Chargers built a 21-0 first-half lead against Southern Durham in the title game but, after retaking the lead with 1:08 to go, surrendered a backbreaking touchdown pass to see their 14-2 campaign come up just short.

Shelby’s George and Crest’s Moore shared County Player of the Year honors.

2. Winds of change

Gardner-Webb University’s two most visible men’s sports went through changes at the top in 2013.

First, Ron Dickerson Jr.’stwo-year tenure in football came to an end and alumnus Carroll McCray on Jan. 27 accepted the reins of a program that entered the fall season with only two winning records since 2003.

McCray was formerly head coach at Austin Peayand most recently at North Greenville, but brought experience from coaching stops at Appalachian State, South Carolina, Furman and Mississippi State, among others.

Then, men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann— after a 21-win season that netted GWU an appearance in the CollegeInsiders.com postseason tournament — left after three seasons. He opted to become an assistant coach at Butler University in mid-July.

Gardner-Webb moved quickly to hire former Runnin’ Bulldog assistant coach Tim Craft, who was serving on Jeff Lebo’s staff at East Carolina.

3. Legion baseball

Shelby, the home of the American Legion World Series, had another big baseball year.

The annual event in August featured standing-room crowds, additions and improvements to the ballpark, plus exciting action that saw Brooklawn, N.J., take home the trophy after a runner-up finish in 2012.

Locally, it was a big season as well. Coach Mike Grayson’s Post 82 squad won the Area IV championship to earn a berth in the state tournament. The team’s 35 wins tied the fifth-best mark in the fabled program’s long history.

4. Far and wide

The word keeps getting out about Cleveland County athletics.

Standout performers in a wide range of activities continue to land scholarships to colleges throughout the region — from junior college up through NAIA, Division II and even ACC (Division I) programs,and 2013 was no exception.

But lately even that trend is changing a bit.

Schools in areas not known for recruiting here have started casting a net this way. Ball State (Muncie, Ind.) signed Burns lineman Damerrian Petty and Howard University (Washington, D.C.) took the Bulldogs’ TravonHunt.

Shelby High golfer Elliott Grayson has committed to Akron University where he’ll get to play at the famed Firestone Country Club regularly. Golden Lion football player Erik McCauley signed and went to the Big Apple to play for Fordham University. Another Lion, RaekwonWashington, will further his career playing at Youngstown (Ohio) State next year.

Though closer to home, Shelby High basketball guard Gabe Devoebecame the first Cleveland County men’s player in his sport to sign with an ACC school (Clemson) in more than 30 years.

5. Winning fever hits

There must have been something in the water in Boiling Springs this year.

Coach Rusty Stroupe’s GWU baseball club gained attention by defeating perennial NCAA power South Carolina at Shelby’s KeeterStadium/Veterans Field. The ’Dogs rallied from a 6-4 eighth-inning deficit to spring ahead and spoil the homecoming of Gamecocks coach Chad Holbrook.

The GWU’s men’s basketball team earned a No. 2 finish in the South Division of the Big South Conference, received a first-round bye and then reached the semifinals of the league tournament before dropping a tough contest to Liberty. The Runnin’ Bulldogs did it with defense and the senior leadership of TashanNewsome and Kevin Hartley.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs football team started off the season with a bang, upsetting Furman in the season opener in coach Carroll McCray’s debut. En route to a 7-5 record, Gardner-Webb upset nationally-ranked opponents Richmond, Wofford and Charleston Southern in the process. Defensive end Shaquille Riddick and wideoutKenny Cook reaped national individual honors in the postseason.

Worth mentioning

There were many other feats worthy of notice involving Cleveland County athletics in 2013.

Former Crest High football standout Dawson Odums led Southern University to a 9-4 record and the SWAC championship over Jackson State with a 34-27 double-overtime win at Houston’s Reliant Stadium. Odums was in his first season since the interim tag had been removed from his coaching title and had former Crest/N.C. State standout Chris Coleman on his staff along with ex-Gardner-Webb assistant LorickAtkinson.

The Golden Lion men’s basketball squad won SMAC honors, thenadvanced to the 2A state semifinals for the second consecutive time.